Placement for Form One students is set to start in two weeks with the Ministry of Education having issued new rules to guide transition.
According to a circular dated the 1st of November 2022 from Principal Secretary (PS) for Basic Education, secondary schools are required to make changes to the instructions for KCPE candidates joining Form 1 in January.
The PS also said that the reporting date for Form Ons is set on the 30th of January 2023. To protect parents from exploitation by schools, the PS directed Principals forcing parents to avoid buying unnecessary demands.
He urged Principals to stop directing parents to procure uniforms or any other materials from specific stores.
“Schools must not dorect parents to procure uniforms or any other materials from a central location. At the same time, schools should not ask parents to come and buy items in the school,” read a circular from the Ministry of Education.
Ahead of the Form One selection and placement exercise, private schools have already raised their concerns over the exercise.
The Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) has asked the government to ensure fairness in Form One selection.The association’s vice chairperson Solomon Munene said that the selection and placement exercise should be informed by the performance of candidates in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations.
“The government should reward hard work and let all candidates join secondary schools of their choice as per their performance.
“All candidates are Kenyan children and it is our belief that Form One selection will be fair to all. Primary schools are keenly watching.” Said Munene.
Munene implored the Ministry of Education to consider including private secondary schools in Form One selection and placement exercise.
“Private secondary schools struggle to get Form One students because they are excluded from the selection. This is unfair because private secondary schools have inserted a lot in infrastructure and learning materials and yet their facilities are greatly underutilized,” added Munene.
In his view the government and all stakeholders should support private schools. He said that this will help decongest public secondary schools.
“We also request the government to consider extending capitation to students in private secondary schools like their peers in public secondary schools,” said Munene.
He said that the government’s support would attract parents to private secondary schools and consequently ease the congestion in public secondary schools.
According to the academic calendar issued by the Ministry of Education, all schools are set to reopen on the 23rd of January 2023.